FRESH PRODUCTS

The Chocolaterie de Puyricard has deliberately shortened the ‘best before’ date of its chocolate. As eating chocolate should be an intense but fleeting pleasure, and because natural products are precious, Puyricard chocolate will keep for only 3 weeks.

EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCTS

We work exclusively with fresh natural products such as Charentes butter, Alsace crème fraîche, Tahitian vanilla pods, Piedmont hazelnuts, Provençal almonds or Ceylon cinnamon... These are all delicate products which are extremely susceptible to variations of all kinds (temperature, storage method, etc.) and so we have to set an earlier ’use by’ date.

HUMAN HANDS, OUR PRODUCTIVE CAPITAL

How do we develop a recipe? In most cases, it all begins when an idea for a taste or a texture for a chocolate or piece of confectionery pops into Tanguy ROELANDT’s head. It is an emotion, an association of a taste or an idea which comes after eating a certain dish, an emotion experienced during a show or performance or a discovery made during a journey. Then the Master Chocolatiers work on this idea following Tanguy’s precise instructions as to how to prepare the recipe. Tanguy and the Master Chocolatiers taste the freshly made chocolate or confectionery. Opinions are exchanged and the recipe is reworked. Once the recipe is ready, after long months of reflection and fine-tuning, the finished product is then added to our display case - but only when it meets Puyricard’s specification. The aromas and textures must be reproduced meticulously and the design must be particularly attractive. The chocolate will then be produced - by hand, and adhering as closely as possible to its creator’s recommendations.

It is up to human beings to adapt their techniques to enable mass production of a speciality using their professional skills and demonstrating all the excellence of the Puyricard brand. At Puyricard it is the human being who adapts to suit the chocolate, rather than the recipe being designed to suit the human being or to meet technical constraints.

THE CRAFTSMANSHIP OF OUR PRODUCTION WORKSHOPS

Twenty master chocolatiers and artisans work all year round in our Puyricard workshops. It is a workshop bursting with unrivalled expertise, where every employee works in perfect synchronicity with our Master Chocolatiers. Skilled practitioners of the moulding, enrobing and filling techniques, our Master Chocolatiers ensure products of consistently high quality.

Moulding, enrobing and fillings... our Master Chocolatiers are experts in all aspects of the Maison Puyricard’s work. Thanks to their expertise, they are able to create innovative products: limited editions, new chocolates, calissons, marshmallows and biscuits. And also create chocolate sculptures or even dresses made out of chocolate.

Each individual chocolate is inspected, touched and tasted by a human being. No machine, however sophisticated, could achieve the quality of Puyricard chocolates. During the festive period, we take on seasonal workers to enable us to increase production to meet the Christmas rush.

PERSONAL CHOICE AND BESPOKE PRODUCTS

Our “lean manufacturing” policy and sense of craftsmanship extend as far as our sales and packaging techniques: the customer is presented with 100 varieties to choose from.

Each ballotin box is made up individually in the presence of the customer and is then gift-wrapped (design varies depending on the time of year). The Chocolaterie de Puyricard does not pre-package its products, (except, of course, at Christmas) to ensure that our customers do not have to wait long for their order. Puyricard pre-packaged products contain chocolates made and packed in batches in our production workshops throughout the month of December. So there is no storage involved and the chocolates are as fresh as those displayed in our shop.

LEARN ALL ABOUT OUR EXPERTISE

We would be delighted to welcome you to our workshops where you can learn all about our unique chocolate-making expertise and secrets. At the end of your visit, you will understand what makes us different. You will have noticed the fragility of the raw materials which we strive to conserve, you will appreciate the value of “100% hand-made”, and you will know all about the Maison Puyricard’s genuine passion for chocolate and total commitment to quality. And to round off your visit, we will invite you to extend your Puyricard experience with a special tasting session.